GUESTS staying at a prestigious four-star hotel were sent home sick after being struck by a highly contagious gastric bug.

Around 20 patrons and some members of staff at Shrigley Hall in Pott Shrigley were stricken with Norovirus – a vomiting and diarrhoea illness often associated with cruise ships – as it swept through the 19th century former Salesian college.

The serious stomach flu, which was not food related, was said to have been brought in to the 150-bed countryside hotel by a guest, who has not yet been identified, about three weeks ago.

The hotel has now been given the all clear by Environmental Health, who helped orchestrate a major clean-up operation.

Bosses even brought in 24-hour nursing assistance to tend to casualties of the outbreak.

The bug, which is caught in a similar way to the common cold, spreads rapidly resulting in acute gastroenteritis that develops between 24 and 48 hours after exposure and lasts for a few days.

A hotel insider said: "It started about three weeks ago when quite a lot of people were suddenly taken ill. At its peak I think there was about 20 people in one day who all went home. There were people falling ill all over the place.

"Environmental Health told them they had to clean everywhere to stop it spreading.

"It was made official to staff a couple of weeks ago, they were really panicking and brought in bleach, disinfectant and industrial cleaning machines. Most of the staff are worried about catching this and do not want to work under these conditions."

A spokeswoman for Shrigley Hall said: "The virus was brought into the hotel by a guest, although we are unable to confirm who that was. The region itself had already been affected and, until this point, our hotel had been a risk free environment.

"We took all the necessary measures to reduce the risks and worked closely with the local authority, who were happy with what we were doing, and there was 24-hour nursing care on the premises from the initial outbreak until it was no longer required."

"The problem has been resolved and we have already had the all-clear from the Health Protection Unit."

The hotel, which charges between £80 and £160 per night, refused to say how many guests were affected by the bug, but a council spokesman said there had been limited access to a section of the building to isolate the contaminated area.

Ged Darby, investigating Environmental Health manager at Macclesfield Borough Council, said: "We got notification quite early on about the virus and have worked together with the Health Protection Unit and the hotel.

"When we hear about people suffering gastric distress – vomiting and diarrhoea – we have to assume it is bacterial. However, this is not the case in this situation, this was not food poisoning.

"Shrigley Hall brought consultants in who were put through a range of procedures to resolve the problem. The management were very good and we couldn’t have asked for a better response from them."

Norovirus can cause unpleasant illness, however, it is rarely serious. It can be caught from close contact or by the ‘aerosol effect’ from an infected person’s vomit.

Mr Darby added: "It can take around 48 hours to manifest itself, if you go to a wedding and go around kissing Aunt Flo and Uncle Jim then the next thing you know everyone else is ill. At the time of the outbreak there were also a number of conferences taking place, so it could have been brought in by one of the delegates."

NHS guidelines state: "Good hygiene is important in preventing others from becoming infected – this includes thorough hand washing before and after contact. Food preparation should also be avoided until three days after symptoms have gone altogether."